Close

You must be logged in to love this post! Please sign in:

Close

You must be logged in to follow this post! Please sign in:

Suzanne (Rotterdam, Netherlands) on 02/05/2009
5 out of 5 stars

In India alzheimer is almost non existent and cancer is more rare, especially male types of cancer. Researchers found that it has to do with the consumption of large quantities of turmeric (also known as kunjit) in the curry. Especially the combination of chilly powder, turmeric and cauliflower and broccoli seems to do the trick. If you prepare a curry don't just use the herbal mix form the grocery but add your own paste of vegetable oil (arachide, sunflower or sesame oil), chilli powder and turmeric powder. Wash and cut the cauliflower and broccoli and let them sit for 15 minutes before cooking, as this improves the health benefits.
REPLY   1      

Replied By Ruma (Calcutta, India) on 02/05/2009

It is NOT true!! Cancer is not rare at all in India, though certain types of cancer are rare (such as colon cancer). Also, Alzheimer's is getting more and more common - one of my aunts suffered from Alzheimer's before she died.

But Turmeric is a powerful herb - it is a purifier of the blood and it is very good for you. It is best eaten in its raw form, and also does wonders for the skin if you make a paste out of the root and slather it over the face.

It really is an amazing herb but one needs to be careful before making claims about the occurrence of cancer!

REPLY   4      

Replied By Kasturi (Mountain View, California, USA) on 07/04/2009

All "research" that claims a low incidence of Alzheimer's in India is ERRONEOUS! Especially, it is amusing when westerners make this claim based on whatever "research" they managed to do. Let me clarify a few facts about India:

1) Majority of the doctors (not to mention the layman) in India are woefully unaware of Alzheimer's. Only in the last decade has awareness been introduced through campaigning.

2) Statistics in India about Alzheimer's is very skewed because of non-diagnosis and mis-diagnosis. Not surprising if even doctors are unaware of this ailment.

3) Longevity in India is around 60 years for men and 65 years for women. Put simply, they don't live long enough to get dementia or Alzheimer's.

4) In India, parents live with their sons as a rule. So, even the real Alzheimer cases are "kept under wraps" by the family and not really admitted to a nursing care facility. It would be tantamount to "abandoning" your parents or "exposing" their dementia to the world. Just not the Indian culture.

I am currently caring for my mother who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's after I brought her with me to the US. Prior to that, my father and relatives were complaining that she is acting crazy and is really difficult to get along with. But nobody even thought of it as a possible mental condition, they just attributed it to her "evil" nature. Sounds horrible, but that is the sad truth in India. Mental illness is often brushed off or ridiculed as if it is a personality trait. That is also why India is not very advanced in Psychiatry. Not because Indians don't magically have depression or other psychiatric issues. It is just that the society is not tuned in that well to these ailments.

REPLY   8      

Replied By Connie (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA) on 08/15/2009

Thank you for your input, Ruma!! Could you tell us, is the water fluoridated and/or chlorinated there? What do you know about excitotoxins and free glutamic acid consumption in India? Has diet changed there like it did here in the USA from mostly homegrown, home-cooked food mostly free of pesticides and preservatives, to a lot of store-bought premade processed food? What would you say might be the cause of the rise in Alzheimer's disease in India?
REPLY         

Replied By Ruma (Calcutta, India) on 08/19/2009

Hi Connie. I am afraid that I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer the technicalities of your questions!

The Indian diet has changed but it's a complicated point because diet is entirely determined by one's social and economic class. Rich people tend to eat too much and do too little exercise, as a result of which they are plagued by many of the lifestyle diseases of the West (such as type-2 diabetes).

Poorer people don't have the money to eat properly - too little protein and vitamins in their diet - and just carbohydrates to fill themselves up. Even lentils, traditionally the protein for the poor, are becoming very expensive for the very poor in India.

The principles of the Indian diet are excellent and many can and do follow these principles, so it is not as if we have lost our traditions entirely!

REPLY   1      

Replied By Zark (Emerald City, The Land Of Oz) on 08/06/2013

Just wanted to point out that the "NAY" above would appear to be more specifically against Turmeric preventing cancer rather than Alzheimer's. There is pretty decent research indicating the *likely* effectiveness of Turmeric.

Turmeric is the fourth anti-inflammatory shown to help Alzheimer's that I am aware of. The other research/examples are: A DMARD injected into the neck (very controversial), NSAID's such as Aspirin (not controversial IMHO), steroids (listed on these very pages)

EC: Thanks, Zark. We'll remove that erroneous rating.

REPLY